If you’ve read my first blog, you’ll remember that my first time in Nepal was chaotic and eventful. I decided that this time I wanted to experience it differently. The two girls id met volunteering, and I re-grouped in Pokhra with zero gear and zero idea. We cluelessly walk into an office building and ask if we can get a permit to hike the Annapurna Circuit. They advise us that the trail is about to close for the monsoon season, so not to make any delays. We spend the afternoon walking the streets, buying and hiring everything we will need. You can quite literally arrive in Nepal with nothing and have everything you need by the end of the day for 1/4 of the price of buying it at home, and the quality is fine. (Except for the Gore-Tex, buy any wet-weather stuff from a real store.)

We decide that we aren’t going to take a guide or porters, so we pack the absolute essentials into our bags, trying to be as light as possible. “Do you think taking three T-shirts is excessive for twelve days?” I ask the girls as I’m trying to cut a bar of soap in half. I took only the absolute essentials and then completely overloaded my bag with camera gear. We set off with our backpacks and a screenshot of the trail map on our iPhones.

I felt light. I felt free. I felt so grateful that I had done the scary thing and come to Nepal that first time because it was a decision that changed my life and evolved my personality. I felt calm and I felt safe, I had everything I could ever need in my bag. We had no time frame and were in no rush, the goal: enjoy the mountains. Something I didn’t feel like I was able to do on my first trip. We would hike during the day and stop for a nice, long lunch, and then when we were ready to settle down for the night, we would knock on the door of the tea house that had the best vibes from the outside and ask if we could stay the night. I struggle travelling in a group; to me, it’s necessary that I spend at least some time alone during the day, but it worked out perfectly. The girls would speed ahead with our new friends, and I would linger behind, slowly making my way through the trail and stopping to take photos. I was hiking so slowly, enjoying every second because when I left Nepal the first time, I didn’t know when I would be back, and now, after this trip, I also don’t know if it will be the last time. When it was time to connect again as a group, we would spend the whole time laughing so hard that we could barely get our words out. When I was planning on quitting my job and first travelling, I spent so much energy stressing about the unknown… If only I knew how much fun I was going to have and all the amazing people I was going to meet!